DAR ES SALAAM
Tanzania (Xinhua) --The Standard
Chartered Bank’s Group on Wednesday agreed to give Tanzania a
concessional loan of 1.46 billion U.S. dollars for the
construction of the Morogoro-Dodoma section of the Standard
Gauge Railway (SGR), said a statement by Tanzania’s Ministry of
Finance and Planning.

The statement said the agreement
was reached in Dar es Salam between Finance and Planning
Minister Philip Mpango and Standard Chartered Bank Group
Executive Director Bill Winters.

The amount will fund the 426-kilometre section from Morogoro
to Makutupora in Dodoma region as more resources were being
sought to construct the remaining sections all the way to the
border with Rwanda, said the statement.

Winters said he was keen on ensuring that Tanzania gets the
financial support to fund projects that benefit the majority of
citizens, including infrastructure development.

In May last year, President John Magufuli launched the first
construction phase of the SGR from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro.

The 522-km Dar es Salaam-Dodoma line is being constructed by
Turkish firms.

And in March this year, Magufuli laid the foundation stone
for the second construction phase from Morogoro to Makutupora.

President Magufuli said upon completion, the SGR will help
create 30,000 direct employment opportunities and some 60,000
indirect jobs.

"The SGR and a dry port in Dodoma will boost the development
of central regions," he said.

The total cost from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza covering 1,219
kilometers is estimated at 7 billion U.S. dollars.

Upon completion, the SGR is expected to usher in the country,
for the first time, a fast and modern passenger train with a
speed of 160 km per hour and a freight train with a top speed of
120 km per hour.

The SGR will also help ease the flow of goods and people in
the neighboring landlocked countries of Uganda, Zambia, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.